And, half an hour before that murder, there was a shooting where two men were injured - followed by a rapid police response leading to a detention and gun seizure. The Commissioner told us that it could be linked to violence that spiked up exactly a year ago:
Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police "Yesterday evening sometime after 7p.m. police received calls of shots fired in the Iguana street extension of Belize City. Police responded to the hospital where they met two individuals, a male and a female, both suffering from gunshot injuries to their body police had also responded to the scene where the shooting occurred and as they were doing so they intercepted a black SUV type vehicle. That vehicle based on the information we had received was the said vehicle that was involved in the shooting on Iguana ext. A search of that vehicle netted two 9 millimetre pistols and three individuals were inside the vehicle. Those firearms we believe were the weapons of choice used in that shooting on Iguana extension. The three individuals are currently in police custody and they are expected to be charged between today and tomorrow. In respect to firearm offenses, as well as gang offenses, and later on as soon as the injured persons are able to give statements then they'll be charged in respect to the shooting of the two individuals on Iguana street extension."
Cherisse Halsall "There was a similar spate of violence that flared up last year, the murder of the 5-year-old girl Kia, another child, and a few more incidents right before easter, do you think anything is linked to why this type of activity tends to happen ahead of the holidays?"
Chester Williams "Well, we do believe that the shooting on Iguana street extension has a direct connection to the fatal shooting of the minor in that area last year."
The Commissioner says those victims were a man and a woman who were shot; our information says that the victims were two men.
